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Form and lead follow-up with SMS from your own Android number

Published and updated

A lead that hears back within five minutes converts; one that waits a day does not. Forms feed a CRM that emails someone eventually. A text from a real person on a real number closes the gap. With textbee the sender is an Android phone holding your SIM, so the message comes from your own number, recipients can reply, and the Pro plan, up to 5,000 messages for $9.99 a month with no per message fee.

How it works

  1. On form submission, validate and normalise the number to E.164, and record the checkbox or wording the lead agreed to along with the timestamp.
  2. Send a short first message with POST /gateway/send-sms: who you are, what they asked about, and a question that invites a reply.
  3. Deliver replies to the owner of the lead through a webhook or a poll of /gateway/messages, so the conversation continues from the same number.
  4. Stop after two unanswered messages and record STOP replies against the lead in the CRM.

Send it

The API key comes from the dashboard and the phone registered on your account does the sending. Recipients are E.164 numbers; the example is fictional.

send-follow-up.sh
curl -X POST https://api.textbee.dev/api/v1/gateway/send-sms \
  -H "x-api-key: $TEXTBEE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"recipients": ["+12015550123"], "message": "Hi Sam, this is Alex from Northwind Roofing. Thanks for your quote request. When would suit for a quick call?"}'

Consent and compliance

A follow-up about the enquiry the lead just made rests on the number they typed and the wording next to the form, so say there that you will text them. Anything beyond that enquiry is marketing and needs written consent in the United States. Two unanswered messages is enough; more looks like spam to the carrier and to the lead.

  • In the United States, 47 CFR 64.1200 requires prior express consent for automated texts and prior express written consent for marketing, and a recipient may revoke consent in any reasonable manner. ecfr.gov, checked on September 4, 2026

Honest limits

One phone sends roughly 10 to 15 messages a minute, so a large blast takes time to drain. Lead volume is rarely the constraint; response time is, so make the send synchronous with the form submission. The phone must be on and connected when leads arrive, including weekends.

One phone sends roughly 10 to 15 messages a minute, so a large blast takes time to drain. Carriers can filter bulk patterns on consumer SIMs. Marketing messages still need consent from the recipient under the local rules.

Frequently asked questions

How fast should the first text go out?

Within a minute of the form. Send it from the form handler or a queue that runs immediately, not from a nightly job.

Can the text come from the salesperson personally?

It comes from the SIM in the gateway phone, so give each salesperson a device and SIM if you want their own number, or use one shared business number and route replies by lead owner.

Is a follow-up text marketing?

A reply about the specific enquiry is a response to the lead. A later offer or a newsletter is marketing and needs its own consent. Keep the two apart in your records.

Sources

  1. Consent rules, ecfr.gov, checked on September 4, 2026

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